AralThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''

SinoMaps Press SinoMaps Press (), previously known as China Cartographic Publishing House, is a publisher in Beijing, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with ...

'' 1997); is a

sub-prefecture-level city A sub-prefectural municipality (), sub-prefectural city, or vice-prefectural municipality, is an unofficial designation for a type of administrative division of China. A sub-prefectural city is officially considered to be a county-level city, b ...

surrounded by

Aksu Prefecture Aksu PrefectureThe official spelling according to is located in mid-Western Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and 2.37 million inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 535,657 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made up of A ...

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, China. Aral means "island" in Uyghur. The city's name is also often written as Alar.

History

According to

Radio Free Asia Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...

, a

United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

-funded news service, Aral was created in the 1950s by the

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (), also known as XPCC or Bingtuan ("The Corps"), is a state-owned economic and Paramilitary forces of China, paramilitary organization in China, China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). ...

to facilitate Han Chinese immigration to the region. Aral became a city in 2002 and its population increased to 166,205 in 2010. On January 23, 2013, of territory was transferred from Awat County (Awati) to Aral city and of territory was transferred from Aksu city (Akesu) to Aral city.

Geography

The city has an administrative area of . It is bordered by mountainous regions to the north and northwest and the

Taklamakan Desert The Taklimakan or Taklamakan Desert (; zh, s=塔克拉玛干沙漠, p=Tǎkèlāmǎgān Shāmò, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Такәламаган Шамә; ug, تەكلىماكان قۇملۇقى, Täklimakan qumluqi; also spelled Taklimakan and Te ...

to the east and south.

Demographics

As of 2015, 167,697 (93.6%) of the 179,214 residents of the county were

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...

, 6,036 (3.4%) were Uyghur and 5,481 were from other ethnic groups.

Climate

Education

Tarim University Tarim University (塔里木大学, Pinyin Chinese ''Tǎlǐmù dàxué''), originally Tarim University of Agricultural Reclamation, is a university in Alar, Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romaniz ...

is located in Aral.

References